I. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to industrial load handling carts and, in particular, to a wheeled pallet which provides mobility for industrial bins and loads while preventing tipping of the load.
II. Description of the Prior Art
In order to reduce manufacturing costs while improving production time, various devices have been developed which provide simple storage and ease of transportation of manufacturing parts and materials. The most basic of these devices, the wooden pallet, is widely utilized for storage of parts and materials. Because of their inexpensive construction, the pallet may be discarded once any parts which were stored on the pallet have been depleted. However, in order to transport the materials or parts stored on the pallet an industrial lift, such as a fork lift, must be utilized, thus increasing labor and production costs.
Although the standard pallet may be useful for large parts or materials which can be easily stacked, smaller parts or materials which cannot be readily stacked require some support. Industrial bins with wire or solid sides and a detachable gate were developed specifically for this purpose. Generally, industrial bins are provided with tubular corner members and cylindrical legs to facilitate stacking of the bins. Moreover, the bins are constructed such that they may be easily transferred with a fork lift. However, because of their size and weight, transfer without the aid of a mechanical lift is impossible.
In order to improve the mobility of industrial loads, various types of carts have been developed. However, the major shortcoming with any cart-type device in an industrial setting is their inherent instability, particularly when utilized with stacked or heavy loads. Thus, to avoid dangerous accidents while handling loads with a wheeled device, stacking of the load is prohibited thereby increasing transfer time. Moreover, because of the limited use of cart-type devices, it is necessary to transfer the load to the cart from its stored location, again requiring the aid of a mechanical lift. This is particularly true in an industrial setting where, in order to reduce storage requirements, industrial bins and parts are stacked as high as possible, in a separate area.